Underlying Attraction
by sheisamelody
Summary: Rachel opened her eyes in time to see Jack reaching the top of the stairs. She studied him for a moment, wondering what it was about the man who, on one hand, frustrated her so much she wanted to punch him in the face, yet on the other, attracted her so much she wanted to kiss him.
1. Denial

_**Underlying Attraction**_

Summary: Jack and Rachel struggle to deal with the underlying feelings they have for one another when Jack starts to date another woman.  
A/N: I've had this story sitting in the doc manager for a while so I thought should publish it! And yes, it's another Jack/Rachel story from me! :)

* * *

 **Denial**

* * *

Contemplating.

Rachel Goldstein was sitting at her desk contemplating _everything_. Everything from her life in general, to her career as a police officer and the decisions she had made, to the men she had been with… She mused over that last thought in particular: _the men she had been with_. One man, and one man only, kept coming to mind. It annoyed her, because she wanted to forget about what happened between them. She wanted to push aside the short-lived memories. But, there was something about Ja-

"So Rach," she heard Mick Reilly's sharp voice interrupt her thoughts in the distance, even though he was only a few metres away, "Are you coming to the Cutter tonight to meet Jack's girlfriend?" Mick stood up and grabbed his jacket from the backrest of his chair. He glanced in Rachel's direction as he pulled the jacket over his shoulders.

Rachel, whose eyes fluttered as soon as Jack's name and the word 'girlfriend' were mentioned, looked up from her desk briefly, "Oh no, I can't tonight. I've got David coming over after work." she said evasively. It was the half-truth; Rachel _did_ have her son David coming over to stay with her, just not until much later on. There was more than enough time for her to go to the pub, but she just didn't feel like it.

Insecure wasn't often a word that Rachel used to describe herself, but it was how she felt about Jack Christey seeing another woman.

Mick pushed his chair underneath his desk, its wheels were loud as they spun across the hard floor. "Well, I'll let you know what she's like, I suppose!" he exclaimed, heading towards the door, stopping near Rachel's desk, "I've never seen Jack with anyone before. I wonder what type of woman he goes for!"

"Oh, he's probably the stereotypical type of man who likes women with blonde hair and big boobs," Rachel didn't miss a beat with her quick-witted response, "Very little personality, ya know, that sort…"

"Hah! I'll soon find out!" Mick beamed, "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah," she replied quietly, watching him walk out of the office. She then sat back in her chair, and tilted her head back, looking up at the ceiling as she thought about Jack. The thoughts were confusing. In her mind, Rachel was completely certain she no longer had any kind of feelings for Jack whatsoever, so what was it that was making her feel so uneasy about the thought of him with another woman? The thought of him in _bed_ with another woman? She shuddered unconsciously.

"Are you coming to the pub tonight, Rachel?" Helen Blakemore appeared in the doorway. She had changed out of her police uniform, and was wearing a nice shirt and flared jeans.

Yet _another_ person wondering if she was going to the pub. Rachel got rid of the annoyed look she was certain she had on her face and spun around in her chair, "No, no. I have David tonight…"

"Is that the truth?" Helen questioned her, wondering if it was the real reason why she wasn't going out for a drink.

"You think I'd use my own son as an excuse to not go to the pub!?" Rachel exclaimed, trying not to get too defensive but also knowing that it probably didn't work.

Helen raised an eyebrow. But she knew of the complicated history between Rachel and Jack, and because it was clearly a sensitive topic, she decided not to say anything more. "Okay, well, have a good night."

Rachel sighed heavily when Helen was no longer in the room. She let out a quiet growl in frustration, clenched her hand into a tight fist, and banged the edge of her desk with it. Were her feelings, or whatever they were, for Jack that bloody obvious to everyone but her?

* * *

The following day, the police station was full of gossipy conversations about the night before. Rachel walked into the office right in the middle of one of them, and immediately felt very uncomfortable about it. "I didn't mind her, Jack…" Mick was saying, acknowledging Rachel with a nod and smile when he saw her. "I mean, I think maybe… just _maybe_ you could do a bit better than her," he grinned at Jack, cheekily, adding, "I just don't know that she is the right woman for you."

Jack rolled his eyes, " _Right_ , yeah thanks Mick," he said sarcastically, before looking over at Rachel. He knew the reason she couldn't make it to the pub last night, but like Helen, he still wasn't entirely convinced by the 'excuse'. "How was your night, Rach?" he struck up a conversation with her, trying his best to avoid any kind of uneasy silence.

Rachel looked over at Jack, her blue eyes clearly surprised by the question, "Ah yeah, not too bad. Thanks," she eventually answered, nodding a couple of times.

"Good."

With his desk positioned partially in front of one of the windows, facing away from both Rachel and Jack, Mick smiled to himself knowing that neither of them would be able to see him. They couldn't be any more awkward if they tried.

* * *

The meal room was quiet when Rachel walked in, somewhat glumly, to grab her lunch a little later on in the day. Mick followed a few minutes later, giving her the first opportunity to ask him more about Jack's 'girlfriend', Nat. "So Mick, did she have blonde hair and big boobs?" Rachel sat down at one of the tables once she had taken her food out of the microwave.

Mick looked upwards slightly, thinking about what Nat looked like, "Not really blonde hair no, more like light brown. And big-ish boobs I guess," he then added, grinning childishly, "I have seen bigger in my time, though."

Rachel rolled her eyes at his last comment, before saying, "But you think Jack can do better than her?" she recalled the discussion she had walked in on when she arrived at work earlier that day.

He sat down on the chair opposite her, stuffing one half of a ham and salad sandwich almost entirely in his mouth. "Yeah. Jack's… a bit… _too_ kind, if you know what I mean. And I can just see Nat being the kind of person who has two sides. Appears to be nice, but underneath the surface, is actually just a bitch."

She raised her eyebrows, surprised by his observation.

"Anyway," Mick continued to say when he noticed the intrigued expression on her face, "I'm sure you'll get to meet her one of these days and then you can make your own judgement of her!"

"Hm," Rachel looked down at her bowl of fried rice, suddenly feeling uninterested in the food in front of her, despite actually being hungry. She poked at the rice with her fork, watching it fall back into the bowl. Mick's opinion of Nat had surprised her; Rachel half expected him to think that Nat was an angel!

"Mick, Rachel…" entered Helen, hurriedly, "A body has just been reported... floating down at Hen and Chicken Bay, and it _could_ be that of Lauren Crawley…"

"The missing teenager?" Mick somehow managed to mumble with his mouth full of food.

Helen nodded, using her hands to usher them to get up, "Yes. Jack's already left with Dave and the dive crew, but you two can go with the Nemesis."

"So much for lunch," Mick complained softly, as they quickly made their way outside.

Rachel gave him a look when they boarded the boat, "What? You _ate_ your sandwich, what are you talking about?" she exclaimed, sounding annoyed.

"Well," Mick began, scratching his head, "I could've had something else to eat, you know… I'm starving!"

* * *

From the shore about 250 metres away, Jack, whose arms were folded across his chest, was watching Emma and Johnny dive down into the murky depths of the water at Hen and Chicken Bay. He then saw the Nemesis arriving, and went to meet Rachel and Mick once the boat was in a safe enough place at the end of a wharf. "Have they got her?" asked Mick, jumping onto the wooden planks of the wharf with a thud.

"Yeah, and forensics are already here," Jack replied, as the three detectives walked back towards the beach, "Woodsie and Johnny are in the water looking for any belongings she may have had with her. No I.D so far."

"So it's not Lauren Crawley?" asked Rachel, there was a frown on her face, "I mean, her photo has been all over the missing persons' posters lately."

"Hard to know for sure," it was an empty, lacklustre response from Jack, whose arms were still folded across his chest, "She's been beaten to a pulp."

One of the forensic officers unzipped the plastic blue bag, allowing Rachel and Mick to see the body. Whilst Mick was somewhat curious, kneeling down to get a better look, Rachel's reaction was to immediately turn the other way; the sight of the young woman's beaten and distorted face was unbearable for her to look at.

Jack watched her take a few steps back, "You okay?" he asked, when she had noticed that he was looking at her.

"Yep, I'm fine."

* * *

When the day was almost over, Rachel half-heartedly wandered up to the roof of the police building, sat down on one of the chairs and looked out at the beautiful harbour. With no confirmation on whose body it was at Hen and Chicken Bay, the only thing the detectives could do for now was wait. She closed her eyes and listened to the different noises around her: the soft horn of a ferry, traffic in the distance, some birds nestling in the trees singing their songs… footsteps…

Rachel opened her eyes in time to see Jack reaching the top of the stairs. She studied him for a moment, wondering what it was about the man who, on one hand, frustrated her so much she wanted to punch him in the face, yet on the other, attracted her so much she wanted to kiss him.

"I thought I might find you up here," Jack spoke softly, as he leaned back against the railing and looked across at Rachel, "You've been rather quiet today, Rach," he observed, an eyebrow raised out of interest. It was unusual for her to be so quiet, so subdued.

She didn't know what else to do except shrug.

"It's not about Nat, is it?" he asked the question that had been on his mind for well over a day.

Rachel frowned at the question, snapping at him, "What? No! Why would you think that? How could it be about Nat? I don't even know her!"

"Yeah," Jack answered, his voice sounding flat, "But you know _me_."

"Jack, what on earth does that have to do with anything?" she was very quickly becoming defensive again.

He stared at her, sensing her defensiveness straight away, "Everything," he said with the utmost confidence, "This is about you and I."

" _What_?"

Jack wasn't at all fed up, he knew Rachel well enough to know that she was going to be like this, "You and I," he repeated, ever so matter-of-factly, "You don't like the idea of me with someone else… and I don't -"

"That is _not_ what this is about," Rachel interrupted him quickly, not wanting to hear the rest of what he had to say. Her eyes then hardened a little as she looked at him, "And _this_ …" she pointed at him, then at herself, " _This_ isn't even anything!"

"Yeah right," he scoffed, snorting softly. There was the slightest of pauses before Jack continued, "There's a sort of, unfinished business, between us, Rachel. You know it and I know it."

"Whatever you reckon, Jack!"

* * *

Later that same night, Jack, at home alone, sat back on the couch with a beer in one hand and the remote control in the other. Sighing, he turned on the television and changed the channel until he found something that he thought might be even the slightest bit interesting. It only took him a few minutes to realise that every program was boring, but he didn't care that much, as long as it kept him from thinking about Rachel.

Jack soon closed his eyes and let out another deep sigh.

Watching television had only managed to make him feel jaded. He wondered if Rachel had this kind of effect on every man she met.

* * *

"Forensics have I.D'ed the body found in the water yesterday," Helen, standing in the doorway of the office, informed the three detectives, "17 year old Lauren Crawley."

"All those 'missing' posters can be taken down now, I guess," Jack replied bluntly. He then asked no one in particular, "How could someone do something like that?"

"The world is full of crazies, Jack," Helen answered, handing Mick the forensics report she had been sent. "Cabarita police have informed her parents, but the investigation will be a water police one, obviously. So, I'll leave you three to it! Let me know if you need anything."

Rachel smiled gratefully as the Senior Sergeant left the office..

Mick was looking down at the folder in his hands, but looked up when he said, "Do you two want to talk to the parents and I'll go talk to Chopper?"

Rachel and Jack shared a brief glance, "Yeah," they both replied at the same time.

* * *

"This looks like it is going to be an easy case," Rachel stated, during the car ride back to the station. "Lauren's parents clearly think her boyfriend killed her, and in these cases, nine times out of ten, it usually has some kind of close family or friend connection."

Jack nodded once, "Agreed."

She looked over at him, as if to say, 'is that all you're going to say to me?'

When Jack _did_ say something, it definitely wasn't what Rachel was expecting, "Look, Rach. We really need to talk."

"About what?"

Jack kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead, "I think you know what."

Realising exactly what he meant, Rachel sighed so that it was loud enough for him to hear, "There's really not a lot we can say, Jack."

"Oh, I think there is."

She refused to reply. Instead, she looked out the window and they sat in silence for the next 20 minutes.

Mick, meanwhile, was already back at the station by the time Jack and Rachel arrived. "Chopper said there were signs of intercourse," he told them as soon as they walked into the office, "There's not enough evidence to suggest whether it was forced or not, however."

"Semen present?" asked Jack, eyebrows raised.

Mick nodded, "Yep, he's having it sent off for a DNA analysis as we speak."

Rachel sat down at her desk, feeling exhausted for some reason. She really didn't know what to make of this case, despite seeing many that were similar during her years as a detective.

"In the meantime, I thought I'd go have an informal chat to the boyfriend, Andrew Plunket. Helen found a possible address for him in Kings Cross. Either of you two want to come?" Mick gave both of them an enticing smile.

Rachel looked across at Jack, "You go," she said to him, "I think I'll stay here this time."

"Sure, let's go the Mick!"

Rachel watched the two men leave, happy that Jack didn't appear to mind going with Mick. She decided to use the time to go and talk to Helen in private. Helen was the only person who knew of her past with Jack, and as such, the only person Rachel felt she could talk to about it. Rachel knocked on the door to the office, and saw Helen, who was sitting at her desk, motion for her to come in. "Rachel, what can I do for you?" she asked in a friendly manner. Her brown eyes appeared just as friendly.

Rachel sat down on the chair in front of Helen's desk. She exhaled, "Look, this doesn't exactly have anything to do with work, so if you feel I should talk to you outside of -"

"It has to do with Jack, am I right?" Helen figured out.

"Oh, geez!" Rachel laughed in irony, "Is it _that_ obvious?"

The older woman smiled at Rachel sympathetically, "A blind man could see that you and Jack are still attracted to one another! Despite Jack's new… relationship, if that's what you want to call it."

She rolled her eyes, and with a slight shake of her head, forced herself to say, almost cry out, in denial, "But I'm _not_ attracted to Jack! I mean, yes, maybe I was... once... but not anymore!"

"You can keep telling yourself that, Rachel, but I think deep down, you know you still are. And I highly doubt a strong attraction is going to magically disappear like that!" Helen snapped her fingers. "Jack's attraction to you certainly hasn't disappeared."

Rachel couldn't help but frown, "Oh that _cannot_ be true, or else, why would he be with another woman right now?" as soon as she asked the question, Rachel felt as though she already knew the answer.

"Well, my guess would be that he's trying his hardest to get over you," Helen said as her phone rang. She held up her index finger to Rachel, wanting her to wait until she got off the phone. "Ah, Jack," Helen said, nodding along to what he was saying to her, "Okay, never mind. Go and see him another day," she soon hung up the phone and looked over at Rachel. "You may feel better if you admit it to yourself," Helen continued their conversation as if they hadn't been interrupted.

Rachel looked back at her and sighed, "Yeah, thanks," was all she could think of to say. There was no way she was going to admit to anything.

Not yet.

* * *

Jack made his way to the Cutter Bar early one evening, quite content at having a beer or two by himself. He was half way through drinking his second beer, when he looked up, having heard the recognisable sound of Mick's laughter. Jack then saw both he and Rachel at the entrance of the pub. "Oi!" Jack called out, deciding to let them know that he was there.

"Do you want a beer, Rach? My shout!" Mick walked towards the bar, looking back at her over his shoulder.

"I won't say no to that, thanks," Rachel replied, wandering over to the table Jack was sitting at. "Hi," she greeted Jack as she sat down opposite him.

"Hi there," he answered her with a smile.

Mick walked over to the table, holding two beers. He sat down next to Rachel, and placed one of the beers on a coaster in front of her. "Thanks Mick," she smiled at him in a thankful way.

Jack didn't really want to ask, but after having that day off, somehow felt obligated to, "How was work today?"

"Oh not too bad, was it Rach?" Mick answered, looking at Rachel, who nodded at him in agreement. "It's looking more and more likely that someome close to Lauren Crawley may have killed her. But there's still not a lot to go on as yet though."

Jack nodded slowly, "Probably over something rather petty."

"True," Mick agreed, pausing for a moment, "So… what were you doing here all alone, Jack?"

Jack's eyes narrowed a little at the question, "Just wanted to have a beer at the pub."

"By yourself?"

"Yeah," he replied simply.

Rachel felt like hitting Mick under the table to stop him from asking Jack anything else. It was nobody else's business but Jack's.

Jack, though, didn't really seem to be all _that_ fazed by the probing questions, and he decided to add, "I'm seeing Nat later on, if that's what you're getting at, Mick."

Mick grinned at him, nodding, "Okay, okay! Fair enough, Jack!"

* * *

"Want another beer?" Mick asked Rachel, once Jack had gone home.

Rachel shook her head, feeling as though she had had enough to drink for one night, "Oh no thanks, Mick. I think I'll finish this one and head off myself."

"Alright," he nodded, there was a smile on his face, "I'm going to get another… be right back."

"Sure," Rachel answered, watching him casually stroll over to the bar. Out the corner of her eye, she noticed a woman walking towards the table she was sitting at. The woman stopped when she was standing next to the table.

"Do you know Jack Christey?" the woman, looking down at Rachel, quizzed, rather viciously. There was little warmth in her stone-grey eyes. "Do you?"

Rachel raised her eyebrows, wondering who the hell this woman was and why she was asking her that, "Um… yeah. I work with him. Why do you ask?"

The woman nodded confidently; it was as if she already knew the answer to her own question. "I thought you might know him," she answered in a smug manner, continuing to nod, "You're the woman he has feelings for, am I correct?"

" _Pardon_?" Rachel finally realised who she was talking to, and she felt every muscle in her entire body tense.

The woman smiled at her, but it wasn't a friendly smile, "I saw the way Jack was looking at you before," the smile on her face faded, and she leaned forward a little, "Stay the _fuck_ away from him," and with that, she pompously walked away.

Rachel was left both stunned and confused. Having another drink suddenly seemed like a pretty good idea.

"Was that Nat?" Mick asked in surprise when he got back to the table with his beer, "What on earth is she doing here? Jack left a while ago!"

"Oh…" she shrugged, completely lost for words, "God knows."

* * *

Rachel still couldn't believe it when she arrived at work the following day. Who the hell did this Nat woman think she was? Just the thought of her pissed Rachel off. She was beginning to see what Mick meant when he said that Nat appears nice but underneath it all is actually a bitch. Although Rachel definitely only saw 'the bitch' in her last night.

She walked into the detective's office and was greeted by Jack, who to Rachel's surprise, looked as tired as she felt. His shirt didn't even look ironed, and the top button was undone, both of which were highly unusual for Jack. "Hey Jack," she said, deciding to honest with him, "You look like shit!"

"Yeah, thanks Rach," was all he offered in reply.

"Is everything okay?"

Jack nodded. He glanced over at Rachel, but there was an emptiness in his eyes that made it somehow seem as though he was actually looking straight past her, "Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Your shirt... your tie," Rachel pointed out, "You're usually so swank," she told him with a small, dimpled smile on her face.

It was just the kind of smile that attracted Jack to Rachel in the first place. There were many things that attracted him to her, but that smile... he felt himself sigh. That smile was enough to make him feel weak in the knees. Jack shook himself out of his thoughts, realising that Rachel was staring at him with those big blue eyes... "Voilà!" he did the button up on his shirt, "That better?"

"A little," she grinned.

"Anyway," Jack wanted to change the subject, "How was the pub last night after I went home? Did you stay much later?" he asked, not knowing that the questions were going to put Rachel in a bad mood. He noticed the expression on her face change, and she almost turned completely pale. Jack frowned, "What happened?"

"Oh -"

Mick walked into the office, "Morning," he said to them, sitting down at his desk. He immediately faced Jack, his dark brown eyes gleaming as he said, "Hey Jack, did you know that Nat was at the Cutter last night?"

"Was she?" the question clearly surprised Jack, "What, after I left?"

Mick nodded, "Uh huh," he then looked over at Rachel, almost as if he was asking her why she hadn't told Jack about it. "I was at the bar when I saw her walking away from where Rachel was sitting."

Rachel shot him the most unimpressed look, before she glanced in Jack's direction, "I didn't know who she was until Mick came back and said something," she lied, not wanting to say what _really_ happened in front of Mick.

Jack had known Rachel long enough to know that she wasn't exactly telling the truth, but he pursed his lips together, and just nodded, deciding not to ask her about it. At least not while Mick was there.


	2. Admission

_**Underlying Attraction**_

* * *

A/N: Here is the second (and final) chapter. :)

* * *

 **Admission**

* * *

On their way to see Andrew Plunket, the 20 year old boyfriend of Lauren Crawley, Jack used the time to ask Rachel more about what had gone on between her and Nat at the Cutter Bar the night before. She glanced across at him and shook her head, "Oh Jack… I honestly don't think -"

"Just tell me, Rachel," he insisted on knowing, "Nat doesn't even know who you are, so I just find it a bit odd that she was talking to you. That's all."

Rachel let out a yielding sigh, "Nat just… she wanted to know if I knew you. And then when I said I work with you…" she shook her head again as she thought about what happened, "She asked me if I am the woman that you have feelings for."

Jack took a deep breath in through his nose, saying quietly to himself, "Bloody hell. She shouldn't be…" he couldn't finish the sentence.

"It was then, I guess, that I kinda realised who she was. And _then_ … she told me to stay away from you," Rachel continued, looking over at him, "I thought it was a bit ridiculous, what she was saying, but I was so stunned I guess… that I really didn't know what to say to her and she just walked off."

Jack sighed; he was annoyed. "Nat has thought that I have feelings for someone else for... well, a few days now," he told Rachel honestly, "I don't know what's put that thought in her head, but now she just won't let it go. It's almost as though she doesn't trust me, and she thinks I'm having an affair or something."

"Sounds like she's a bit paranoid," Rachel remarked.

Still annoyed, Jack remained silent. It was only when they pulled up to Andrew's residence in Kings Cross, that he glanced across at Rachel and said to her, "I'm sorry you had to put up with that, Rach."

"Oh no… don't be sorry, Jack," she answered, flashing him a small but appreciative smile, "It's nothing I can't handle."

"I know, but you shouldn't _have_ to handle it in the first place, that's my point!"

Rachel looked over at Jack out the corner of her eye, thinking perhaps he was right.

When they were walking down the corridor of the four storey apartment building, Jack noticed the door to Andrew's unit was slightly ajar. "Have a look at this, Rach," he said, pointing to some damage below the door handle, "We may not be the only ones looking for him." Rachel raised her eyebrows at him, as he knocked on the door and slowly pushed it until it was completely open, "Andrew! It's the police," Jack announced relatively loudly.

Inside the small apartment, chairs and other various furniture pieces had been knocked over, and paper was scattered over the ground. Rachel and Jack took their guns out of their holsters, as a precaution.

"Andrew?" Jack called out again, a little louder this time, "Police!"

Rachel then saw that the door to the balcony was open, "Jack!" she called him over to her, gesturing with an index finger, "Maybe he jumped?" she suggested.

"It's a fair way down," observed Jack, taking a moment to weigh up the distance between the level they were on and the ground below them. "He'd have some significant injuries if he jumped, that's for sure. Unless he's Spiderman," he glanced over at Rachel, his eyebrows raised.

She looked back at him, smiling a little at his last comment. They held the stare; it was only a thudding noise coming from the corridor outside the apartment that made them look away from each other. "What was that?" Rachel wondered, and they walked tentatively towards the front door, guns slightly drawn. In the corridor, they found Andrew, slumped on the ground about three metres from his front door. Jack knelt down, put his hands on Andrew's shoulders and softly pushed him back against the wall. Andrew groaned at the movement.

"I'll call an ambulance," said Rachel, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

"No," he groaned again, "I don't need… an ambulance."

Jack looked up at her and rolled his eyes, "Call one, Rach."

Andrew shook his head, as he tried his best to get up, "No, please, don't. They'll come after me again if you do that…"

"They?" Rachel asked, her voice particularly firm and demanding, "Who's _they?"_

"The people who did this to me," Andrew answered, and then with another shake of his head, said, "I don't know who they are."

* * *

Later that same evening, Jack drove home after work and was quite surprised to see Nat sitting in her car outside his house. "Hey," he walked over to her, "How long have you been waiting here?"

"Oh, not very long," she answered, getting out of her car. They walked to the front door. "I met another one of your colleagues at the Cutter Bar last night," Nat told Jack, like she was trying to get some kind of reaction from him, "Dark hair, blue eyes -"

Opening the door, Jack raised his eyebrows, and pretended he didn't know what she was talking about, "Oh yeah?" he asked vaguely, once they were inside.

"- attractive," she glanced over at him, an eyebrow raised, as she still hoped for a reaction.

"Male or female?" Jack responded, quizzically. He wasn't stupid though, he knew exactly who she was talking about. He also knew that she was playing a little game with him, so he decided, at first, to go along with it.

Nat, however, had other ideas and started to become more and more relentless, "I think you know, Jack. I also think that _she_ is the woman you have feelings for. I mean, I can see why you like her… she _is_ beautiful."

"Look," Jack could tell that the evening was going to turn sour if the conversation continued, and had enough of her game quite quickly. "If this is all you're going to do, if this is all you're going to talk to me about… then you can just leave right now. Because I am _really_ not in the mood to argue with you, Natalie."

"I just want you to admit that you have feelings for -" Nat stopped mid-sentence because she realised she didn't know Rachel's name, but didn't bother to ask Jack, "- this woman!" she then exclaimed, exasperatedly, "That's all!"

"And what would me telling you something like that achieve?" he questioned her, crossing his hands over his chest; the gesture was a silent way to tell her that he wasn't going to play her game anymore. "Hm?"

Nat was still exasperated, perhaps even more so now that he was obviously being evasive with her, "So, you'd be happy if I had feelings for some other man?" she demanded of Jack, impatiently tapping the ground with one foot.

"Alright, look," Jack began, deciding not to answer the question as he glared at her through slit eyes, "Before you and I got together, there was a time... a while ago now... when I had feelings for another woman, but I realised that nothing was going to happen and I've moved on from that. Okay?" he thought it would be better to lie a little.

For the first time, Nat appeared to see a tiny bit of reason and didn't ask him any more questions, _"Okay."_

* * *

Jack arrived at work the next day feeling rather agitated from his 'conversation' with Nat. Everything he did annoyed him and started to become such an effort. Even something which would usually be simple, like having to get a new pen because the ink had dried up in his old one, pissed him off. Jack threw the old pen in the bin with so much force, that it somehow bounced out and landed on the floor, nowhere near the bin. He snarled, frustratingly, not even bothering to go and pick the pen up.

A few moments later, Rachel entered the office, and immediately noticed the pen on the ground. She bent down and picked it up, "This yours, Jack?" she asked, holding it in the air.

"Yeah," he replied, his voice sounding completely unemotional, "I missed the bin."

Rachel raised her eyebrows, before a small smile formed on her face, "You _missed_ the bin? How could you miss that? It's right next to your desk!" she laughed, throwing the pen in the bin, which is where it stayed this time.

"Show off," Jack muttered under his breath.

"Geez! What's up with you today?" she was still laughing.

Jack looked at her, running his tongue over his dry lips, "Oh…" he was about to tell her what happened with Nat, but something inside him told him not to, "It's nothing."

Rachel started to shake her head, "Oh, yeah right!" she exclaimed, refusing to believe him, "You're clearly mister grumpy bum today, Jack! Surely there's a reason for that!"

"I think I'm allowed to have a _grumpy bum_ day every now and then, Rachel."

She turned her head to her left, realising there was something very aloof in the way he spoke; their eyes locked. That same spark, that same electricity, as the day they first met, jolted between them in what was an invisible but strong force. They both felt it, but neither of them were ready to, or wanted to, admit it. _Especially_ Rachel, who broke the intense stare by looking away from him.

"Lauren Crawley's parents -" Helen walked into the office, stopping abruptly, as if she sensed that she was interrupting something between the two detectives, "Ah…" both Rachel and Jack looked over at her, "They're waiting downstairs, wanting to have a chat."

"Send them up, thanks Helen," said Jack, trying his best to sound more enthusiastic.

Helen looked at Jack, eyebrows raised, then glanced over at Rachel, looking for any answers to explain Jack's mood. Rachel just shrugged offhandedly, perhaps recognising the lingering question in Helen's eyes.

* * *

Sitting on his couch, Jack could hear Nat's voice echoing in his head over and over again.

 _"I just want you to admit that you have feelings for this woman!"_

He knew she was right. He knew he still had feelings for Rachel. Undeniably _s_ _trong_ feelings, too. Jack had felt something for Rachel from the moment Jeff introduced her to him in the Water Police meal room. Even if he didn't quite realise his feelings until a bit later on. There was just something about Rachel that made him go a little crazy inside.

The unsaid admission made Jack feel slightly relieved in a way. Like the weight on his shoulders had been lifted and he was free. Only, he wasn't free. He was still with Nat, who had been continually swooping on him like a hawk on the hunt for its prey, trying to get something out of him. Jack started to think that maybe Mick was right; perhaps he could do better than Nat. For some reason, this thought prompted Jack to recall a conversation he'd had not long after he replaced Frank Holloway at the Sydney Water Police.

 _"What happened? You never met the right woman? Or did the right one get away?"_ Brian Geary asked of Jack; the prying questions came about after Jack said no to being married or divorced.

Besides feeling uncomfortable and unwillingly to respond, Jack remembered immediately thinking of Rachel as soon as he was asked. She had always been the 'right woman who got away' as far as Jack was concerned, but he had no idea what to do about it. His instincts were telling him to break it off with Nat, to tell Rachel how he feels, to lay it all on the line. However, Rachel had pushed him away before, and he wasn't sure if he was ready for that to happen again.

* * *

There wasn't a lot that surprised Rachel about Jack, but his choice of women certainly had. Rachel knew that she hadn't always been the nicest person to Jack. In fact, there were times when she was completely, and undeservedly, horrible to him. But Nat... she was a real piece of work, and even after only meeting her once, Rachel felt that she couldn't trust her.

She sighed, angrily, wondering why she couldn't just accept that Jack was moving on. It wasn't as though she and Jack were ever really a 'couple'. They'd had a one night stand, and although it was _good,_ it was still just that - a one night stand. And Rachel had no one else to blame but herself for it being that way. Jack obviously wanted more, but she just wasn't ready to be in a relationship with another cop, despite the fact that she knew Jack was nothing like John 'Knocker' Harrison.

Rachel was then distracted by a loud knock, almost a thump, on her front door. She looked at the clock on the wall, it was 9:35. She wondered who could be there at that hour, and called out, "Who is it?" to which there was no reply. Rachel then opened the door, cautiously, and saw that no one was there. About to close the door again, she looked down and spotted an envelope on the ground. Rachel frowned and picked it up, looking around before she closed the door.

She carefully opened the blank envelope without trying to touch it too much. Inside, was a small, jagged-edged piece of paper and Rachel instantly knew who it was from when she read what it had written on it:

 _I told you to stay the fuck away from him._

Refraining from calling Jack, Rachel shook her head out of disbelief. Nat had definitely gone too far this time.

* * *

"She _what?"_ exclaimed Jack, angered by what Rachel had just told him. "How does she even know where you live for God's sake?" he wondered, before realising, "She must've followed you home from work."

Rachel nodded, "Yeah... that's... slightly disconcerting."

"Do you have the note here with you?"

She nodded again, reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the envelope using her fingertips. Rachel got up, walked over to Jack's desk and handed it over to him. Just as carefully, Jack opened the envelope and looked at the note inside. "This is pretty much what she said to you the other night at the pub?" he noticed, glancing up as Rachel walked back to her desk and sat down.

"Yeah."

Jack covered his eyes with one hand. He couldn't believe that Nat would do something like this, even though he knew that she had shown some kind of jealousy when it came to Rachel. He took his hand away from his face as he said, "Why didn't you call me when you got this last night, Rach?"

Rachel looked across at him, "Because calling you wouldn't have made a difference, Jack," she answered frankly.

"Would you have called me if you had actually _seen_ Nat outside your house?"

She shrugged, "Oh... shit, I don't know."

Bothered by Rachel's answer, Jack stood up and walked over to her, "If anything like this happens again, Rach, I want you to call me right away," he said seriously, "I mean it. Call me. I don't want you to have to put up with that crap."

Rachel wanted to roll her eyes at him, but she didn't. She knew Jack was just being cautious. But what Rachel didn't yet realise was that there was a deeper meaning to Jack's cautious words and protective behaviour.

"The DNA results on the semen have come back," Mick walked into the office, waving a folder around in his hand, "And it's a positive match to Andrew Plunket."

Walking back to his desk, Jack folded Nat's note to Rachel in half and put it away in his top drawer. "Well that was pretty much always going to be the case, wasn't it?" he said with a sigh when he sat back down, "So... he had sex with his girlfriend sometime before she died. That doesn't necessarily mean he killed her though."

"The people who attacked Andrew the other day..." said Rachel, her eyes moving back and forth between Jack and Mick, like she was watching a tennis match. "Maybe we should talk to him again. He may have remembered something."

* * *

At the Sydney Hospital, Rachel and Jack were talking to Andrew, trying to see if he could remember anything more about the day he was attacked. Andrew was shaking his head, "No. Just that they were men. Three of the bastards."

"You didn't see their faces? They didn't speak to each other or to you at all?" Jack asked in succession, impatiently.

Andrew looked at him blankly, "Well, yeah. They spoke to each other," he then looked over at Rachel, realising that she was the 'softer' of the two detectives, "They sounded Australian I guess..."

"You guess? Is that it?" Jack couldn't hide his agitation, even if he really wanted to, "What about their height, build? That sort of thing."

"No, nothing."

"You know, it doesn't sound like you really want us to catch these guys, Andrew," Jack said, discontented, putting his hands on his hips, " _Or_ whoever killed your girlfriend."

Rachel walked over to him, put her hand on his shoulder and quietly told him to calm down. He did what she said and took a step back, allowing Rachel to continue asking Andrew the questions.

"Hey, I _loved_ Lauren a lot. Of course I want to find out who killed her," Andrew retorted defensively, addressing Jack, "I bet you don't even know what that's like, to actually be in _love_ with someone."

"Alright, alright, I think that's enough," Rachel said before Jack had the chance to even think about opening his mouth. "Now Andrew, are you absolutely certain that there is nothing else you can remember about the men who did this to you?"

He looked at Rachel, "I think one of them had a bit of a different accent, still Australian maybe, but just... different," Andrew eventually told her, clearly trusting Rachel more than Jack. His eyes then lit up as he remembered, "No, I think it was a New Zealand accent!"

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking back over her shoulder at Jack, who subtly rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, it was definitely a New Zealand accent. Because I remember him saying the word shit like shut."

* * *

During the short ride back to the station, Jack was extremely quiet and reserved. Rachel, who was driving, glanced over at him, feeling a little concerned about his increasingly brooding mood. "Are you alright, Jack?" she asked, wondering why he wasn't going on about how unhelpful Andrew had been. She was so used to him speaking a lot, particularly after they had questioned someone.

"Yeah," Jack answered unconvincingly, and when Rachel gave him another look out the corner of her eye, he sighed, "Oh, no, not really."

"Are you thinking about what Andrew said?"

Jack shook his head, and at the same time, said, "No..." he paused, shrugging, "I'm just... thinking in general. Got a bit too much on my mind."

Rachel opened her mouth, about to say something, but she shut it just as quickly, her teeth chattered together. She had a feeling that Jack may have actually been thinking about the messy business with Nat, and even though Rachel was now inadvertently involved, she still thought it was personal for him.

* * *

Jack knew that breaking up with Nat was _not_ going to be easy, but it was something that had to be done. For both of their sakes. And Nat wasn't stupid either; she knew why Jack had invited her to his house one particular evening. She had a go at Jack, thinking that the only reason he was breaking things off with her was because of his feelings for Rachel.

"It's because of her, isn't it? The woman at the pub?" Nat _still_ didn't know Rachel's name, and she _still_ didn't care.

Jack sighed wearily, "Her name is _Rachel,_ and I don't think she appreciated the little note you left her the other night."

A somewhat evil looking smile appeared and then disppeared on Nat's face, "Oh, so she told you about that, did she? Went running to her knight in shining armour," she mocked, contemptuously.

He closed his eyes, thinking about what an idiot he had been. How did he not see through her charade; she was not kind at all, merely just pretending to be for whatever purpose. Jack had no idea what she gained by faking kindness. "Of course Rachel told me about the bloody thing!" he finally answered, giving himself a moment to calm down. "You're lucky she's not going to do anything about it."

"Oh? How remarkably generous of her."

Jack generally considered himself a patient, and at most times, gentle man, but Nat's constant and awful attitude towards Rachel in particular was the final straw. He lost it completely, and kicked her out of his house. "I don't _ever_ want to see you back here again. Do you understand me?"

Nat just blinked and looked at him naively, like she was wondering what she had done wrong.

Through narrowed, vigilant eyes, Jack watched her leave quietly, hoping that the break up was going to be as simple as it seemed. Hoping that he would never see her or hear from her again. When she was gone, Jack wandered aimlessly inside, feeling relieved but slightly apprehensive at the same time. Being with Nat had been a mistake; he could see that now.

* * *

"Andrew Plunket has confessed to killing Lauren Crawley," Helen's monotone voice entered the office before she appeared in the doorway.

Rachel blinked a couple of times and looked up. She had been staring at a blank laptop screen for more than half an hour. Her mouth opened and it stayed that way, "What?"

"Andrew Plunket confessed," Helen repeated, although she knew that Rachel heard her the first time. "Apparently they got into an argument... they fought, he pushed her down some stairs and then he panicked. Dumped her body in the harbour."

Jack just scoffed, "Geez, he's a bloody good liar, isn't he? Two days ago he's telling Rachel and I how much he loved Lauren. And today he's confessing to her murder. I mean, can we actually believe any word he says? It's all a bit too easy," his ramble continued, "Plus, the injuries Lauren sustained looked like more than just being pushed down some stairs."

"How long have you been a cop, Jack? You should know any murder confession has to be taken seriously," Helen told him, a wry smile formed on her face.

"What about the men who bashed Andrew?" Rachel wondered out loud, frowning, "Are we now supposed to think that it was some sort of retaliation act for killing Lauren or what?"

Helen nodded and said at the same time, "It certainly looks that way."

* * *

On the roof of the Water Police building, Jack sat down on one of the chairs with a heavy sigh. It was unusually quiet on the harbour that day, despite the beautiful early spring weather. Jack could only see a few boats from his vantage point.

"I thought I saw you come up here," came Rachel's soft voice from behind him. She walked around so that she was facing him, and asked, "Is everything okay?" the look on her face told Jack she was concerned about him.

Jack nodded, hesitating a little before he said, "I um... broke up with Nat last night."

Rachel was surprised. "Not because of that stupid note?" she asked him, eyebrows raised out of curiosity. She leaned back, resting her elbows on the railing.

"Oh, that's one reason," he answered with a single nod. He got up and stood next to Rachel, at first, facing in the same direction as she was. "I saw something in Nat last night that I didn't like," Jack decided to tell admit everything; he turned towards her. "And I guess... I guess it made me realise that I'd made a mistake and that I was really only with her... and this probably sounds horrible I know... but I was only with her because I was trying to deny what I _really_ felt. How I really felt."

Rachel took the slightest of steps to one side, away from Jack. She knew what he was going to tell her, but she wasn't quite sure if she was ready to hear it from him out loud. "Jack -" she began, but she didn't know what to say, words escaped her.

He gazed at her intently, and with a serious voice, said, "Rachel, if you don't feel the same way I do, then just tell me now and I'll never bring it up again. I'll never bother you with it again."

Rachel held her breath for a couple of seconds. Once again, she didn't quite know what to say to him. She wanted to click her fingers and magically disappear so that she didn't have to face up to anything. When Rachel finally breathed out, she said quietly, "I don't know how I feel..."

Jack was still looking at her with intent.

"I... I think, _maybe,_ I feel... something," she stammered uneasily, "I just don't..." something made Rachel stop, perhaps it was the earnest and intense way in which Jack was looking at her. "I don't think it's something we should act on though, Jack."

"Why?"

Rachel just shrugged, "We're partners... cops... It just..." she sighed, and turned around so she was facing the harbour, "It's not right. It wouldn't be right."

Jack gently slid his hand down her arm, starting from just above her elbow, until he reached her hand, "That's not true, Rach," he told her with a heartfelt smile, "You and I... we could be _so_ good together. I _know_ it."

She briefly closed her eyes as she felt Jack's warm hand squeezing hers. His words were extremely resonating. Rachel turned her head slightly, and her eyes met with Jack's. They stared at each other. "You've just broken up with Nat, Jack..." Rachel broke the silence, speaking as honestly as she could, "It's not the right time anyway. I wouldn't want to be the rebound."

"You _wouldn't_ be the rebound," Jack said, letting go of her hand, "I care about you, Rach. You've always been the right woman for me. That feeling... it's never changed."

"Jack," she put one hand on his cheek in what was the lightest of touches, and smiled. "You're a good man. You did nothing to deserve the way Nat treated you..." Rachel paused, her voice became a whisper, "The way I treated you... you don't deserve any of that."

He shook his head at her last sentence, "I don't care about that, it's all in the past. What I care about is _now_. What we can do about right _now._ "

Rachel merely smiled again. She ran her hand down the length of Jack's face, before quickly pulling away from him. She had to, otherwise she would've been swept up in his magnetic charm. And it was too soon for any of that; too soon to give in to anything they may have been feeling.

Jack eyed her as she walked away from him; he watched her walk down the stairs and out of his sight. Jack then smiled rather confidently to himself, knowing that the day would soon come when he would be with the woman of his dreams. The woman he had been in love with since the moment he saw her.


End file.
